Being fashionable and stylish is a matter of choice – it’s not about money, it’s not about having time for it (especially not for us men), and it’s definitely not about being born with a sense of style. Literally anyone can boost their appearance and become more stylish almost instantly.

Still, when you finally make the decision to ditch your old wardrobe – full of worn out t-shirts, baggy jeans, and cheesy sweaters – and start filling up your new wardrobe, you might be overwhelmed by the endless number of possibilities. There are local cool guys promoting themselves as the etalons of having swag; luxury brands trying to convince you that you have to spend a shitload of money on their products to look good; and your own social circles giving you all kinds of advice – all with the best intentions.

Making a change is always difficult, but there are some quick tips you can keep in mind when designing your new appearance.

1. Wear a belt

If you’re wearing pants, you should be wearing a belt (with the exception of joggers and gym-pants). It’s an undebatable fact that wearing a belt has some functional benefits – namely keeping your pants in place. But even if your pants are exactly the right size, you should still wear a belt purely as a fashion-item!

You see, your belt is almost at the exact center of your body, at the border of your shirt and your pants; it divides you into your upper-body and lower-body. So, even though your belt won’t ever be the center of attention, it still plays a central role when it comes to your overall appearance.

There are at least three different types of belts that should be in your wardrobe, no matter what style you’re aiming for:

A brown leather click-belt (my favorite type), an eternal piece that matches most styles perfectly. You can wear it casually on jeans, or even if you’re aiming for a more formal look with chinos.

A colored elastic belt (or even more of them, in different colors), which is perfect for for summer outfits and shorts, or if you’re just going for a very casual style with jeans.

2. Buy skinny jeans

Most of us love to wear jeans – and why wouldn’t we? Jeans are comfortable, durable, they look amazing, and match almost anything we pair them up with. You can wear jeans and still look casual; or if you want, you can also dress them up for an elegant look. With that being said, you should keep something in mind…

If you want to look your best, you should aim for a manly aesthetic look. This means that your legs shouldn’t be toothpicks, but they shouldn’t look like tree-trunks either. The former can be achieved by proper training and nutrition, while the latter requires one small change in your wardrobe: instead of oversized, baggy, or straight jeans, you should have fitted, slim, or skinny jeans – regardless of the exact color or style! These will have a snug fit, ensuring that your legs don’t look fat or shapeless. If you start wearing skinny jeans though, you should start training your legs too – as having your skinny chicken-legs exposed won’t do your appearance much good!

3. Have well-fitted shirts

When it comes to your t-shirts, you want to make sure that they’re not baggy or oversized. No matter how aesthetic your physique is, no matter how manly your overall figure is, it will mean nothing if your t-shirt causes you to look like a shapeless amoeba. Instead, you want your t-shirts to emphasize your masculine physique, highlighting that V-taper – or at least you want your shirts to give you the illusion of being more muscular.

This can be achieved if your t-shirts have a tight (but not too tight) fit at your shoulders and your chest, with slim-fitting sleeves around your arms. If you’re muscular, this will highlight your physique; and if you’re not (yet), then at least you won’t look like a skeleton in a sack! When it comes to the lower parts of your t-shirt, it’s perfectly fine to loosen things up a bit – you don’t want your shirt to stick to your body everywhere.

With that being said, if you only have the option to buy a t-shirt that’s slightly oversized, or one that’s slightly undersized, always go for the smaller version: it will still emphasize your physique, while the larger one will just look too loose and baggy!

4. Don’t be afraid to accessorize

Accessories are all the small things you can wear that can instantly add to your physical appearance. Basically, wearing accessories are like having icing on a cake – they’re not an absolute must, but they are really nice to have!

Still, you shouldn’t overdo it! One of the biggest mistakes is wearing too many accessories – to a point that they actually take all the focus away from your overall image. To make sure that doesn’t happen, stick to wearing a maximum of 3-4 accessories at a time!

The most conventional men’s accessories are probably quality watches. While a good watch does come with a price-tag, you should eventually try to get yourself at least one decent watch that you can pair up with both casual and former outfits.

Sunglasses are another one of those accessories that just make you look cool. I personally love aviator frames, but you should find something that matches the shape of your face!

Having a cool hat or a cap can also enhance your looks. Just make sure it pairs up nicely and naturally with the clothes that you’re wearing – you don’t want to be a try-hard who wears his cap no matter what.

And finally – the most controversial items on the list – men’s jewelry. I think that – if you don’t overdo it – jewelry can definitely add to the way you look. My favorite piece of jewelry is definitely my tiger eye bracelet, but I also like subtle necklaces – especially black stainless steal ones.

5. Pick a shoe that matches your outfit

I’ve seen so many guys looking a little off – despite wearing dope outfits – all because of a bad choice of shoes. You might think that shoes are the least important aspect of your physical appearance, because everyone you talk to will look into your eyes anyway, or that nobody will notice your shoes with your legs kept underneath the table. While it is true that shoes aren’t as important as your shirt, they can still boost – or ruin – your overall appearance.

Having one pair of good shoes isn’t enough though. However versatile that one pair may be, it’s better to switch things up a bit from time to time to match your outfit as much as possible and to keep your style fresh.

I suggest having 3 types of shoes for everyday wear! For starters, I recommend that you find yourself find a pair of shoes you like in each category:

Brown leather boots, perfect for rainy weather, but can also be paired up with basically any outfit – regardless of whether you’re aiming for a more casual, or a more formal look.

Also, don’t forget to clean and maintain your shoes regularly! If you’ve spent your time and money on buying yourself the perfect shoes, go the extra mile to look fresh and avoid coming off as sloppy!

What clothing item did I miss from this list? Let me know in the comments! And make sure to follow Vikingfinity – I release posts just like this every Tuesday and every Friday, and you don’t want to miss them!